Contact Between Paul and the Jerusalem Church

Durham E-Theses Paul, Antioch, and Jerusalem: a study in relationships and authority in earliest Christianity Taylor, Nicholas Hugh How to cite: Taylor, Nicholas Hugh (1990) Paul, Antioch, and Jerusalem: a study in relationships and authority in earliest Christianity, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5959/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Abstract Nicholas Hugh Taylor PAUL, ANTIOCH, AND JERUSALEM A Study ir\ Relationships and Authority in Earliest Christianity University of Durham Ph.D. thesis 1990 Paul's life and work, including his relationship with the Jerusalem church, were dynamic, rather than having been predetermined in his conversion. The Antiochene church was crucial to Paul's development, to a degree not previously appreciated. Little is known of the years following Paul's conversion, other than it was unsettled, and included travels and sojourns in Arabia, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Tarsus. The encounter with the Jerusalem church did not result in a stable relationship or social integration. It was at Antioch that Paul was first fully incorporated into a Christian commu• nity, from which he derived his dyadic identity, and later his apostolic commission. His relationship with the Jerusalem church consisted in corporate participation in the noivwvta. between the churches of Jerusalem and Antioch. In this context, Paul joined Barnabas in defending the Antiochene gospel of uncircumcision, and not his own theology or apostleship, at the Jerusalem conference. The Antioch incident resulted in Paul's separation from the Antiochene church, and exclusion from its KOIVUVLOL with the Jerusalem church. His independent min• istry followed, during which he developed his conception of apostleship indepen• dent of human authority, in which his self-identity is bound up with the gospel, in response to his isolation, and loss of dyadic identity and apostolic commission. Paul sought to end his isolation through reconciliation with the Antiochene church, and, through its KOLVcuvia, with the Jerusalem church. This was the object of the collection, but the crisis in Corinth delayed completion, requiring Paul to convey his offering separately. His implicit claim to KOIVUVUX accordingly became overt, and the collection became the basis, rather than a correlative obligation, of the relationship. This jeopardized the acceptability of Paul's overtures, and, while his reception is uncertain, the journey occasioned his arrest, and ended his missionary career. PAUL, ANTIOCH, AND JERUSALEM A Study in Relationships and Authority in Earliest Christianity by Nicholas Hugh Taylor MA The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. A Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Durham October 1990 2 5 APR m\ in memoriam Commander PATRICK HUGH BISSET TAYLOR OBE DL RN 19.2.1916 - 30.7.1989 Copyright © 1990 by Nicholas Hugh Taylor The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without Nicholas Hugh Taylor's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 3 I confirm that no part of the material offered has previously been submitted by me for a degree in this or in any other University. Nicholafe/rlugh Tayl 2 October 1990 4 Contents Preface 7 Introduction 10 Part I PAUL'S CONVERSION AND THE BEGINNINGS OF HIS CHRISTIAN CAREER 55 1 Paul's Conversion, and Association with the Church of Damascus 57 1.1 The Circumstances of Paul's Conversion 58 1.2 Arabia and Damascus 62 2 Paul's Initial Contact with the Jerusalem Church 70 Part II PAUL'S WORK IN AND FROM ANTIOCH 79 3 Barnabas and Paul, and the Mission from Antioch 81 4 The Question of the Law, and the Jerusalem Conference . 88 4.1 Circumstances giving rise to the Conference 89 4.2 The Conduct of the Conference 95 4.3 The Ruling of the Conference 101 4.3.1 The Applicability of the Law for Gentile Christians 102 4.3.2 The Missionary Work of the two Churches 103 4.3.3 The Obligations accepted by the Antiochenes 107 5 Peter and Paul at Antioch 113 5.1 Circumstances giving rise to the Confrontation 114 5.2 The Position and Conduct of the Parties 117 5.2.1 The Delegation from James 117 5.2.2 Peter 1-20 5.2.3 Barnabas and the Antiochene Christians 123 5.2.4 Paul 124 5.3 The Consequences of the Incident 127 5.4 Excursus : The Apostolic Decree 129 Part IIPAUL'S INDEPENDENT MISSION 132 6 The Aftermath of the Antioch Incident 136 6.1 Contact between Paul and the Jerusalem Church 136 6.2 The Evidence of I Thessalonians 142 6.3 The Evidence of Galatians 145 6.4 Paul's Antagonists in Galatia 158 6.5 Paul's Preaching in Corinth 163 7 The Return to Antioch 169 7.1 The Evidence of I Corinthians 170 5 7.2 The Evidence of Romans 180 7.3 The Collection 183 8 The Final Years 191 8.1 Paul's Opponents in Corinth 192 8.2 The Delivery of the Collection 198 8.3 Excursus : The Evidence of Philippians 202 Conclusions 207 Bibliography 215 6 Preface The question of Paul's relationship with the Jerusalem church has been of interest to me since, as a child, hearing Gal.2 read in church. The subject, how• ever, was slow to enter my academic work. I recall two or three undergraduate papers upon which the Jerusalem conference and incident at Antioch impinged, but it was not until I came to Durham, and then in an unpremeditated manner, that I began to give the matter a systematic treatment, and it has all but domi• nated my thoughts for the last three years. The purpose of this thesis, however, is not to bring to fulfillment a childhood interest, but to explore, and hopefully to illuminate, an issue that is crucial not only for New Testament studies as a topic of interest and controversy in its own right, but also for questions regard• ing ecclesiastical relations today. The scope of this study cannot feasibly include discussion of the latter aspect, much as it is of concern and interest to me, and of pressing relevance in contemporary Christianity. It is necessary in this work to concentrate on the scholarly issues, concerning the historical and sociological issues surrounding Paul's relationship with the Jerusalem church. In this I hope to draw attention to the under-appreciated role of the church of Antioch in Paul's life, and to locate Paul's apostolic self-conception in its social and historical context. I shall seek to demonstrate that, if the significance of the Antioch church is more fully acknowledged, our perception of Paul becomes historically more plausible, and sociologically more-comprehensible. The author and object of much-polemic and iconography becomes recognizable as a human being who acquired an awesome sense of vocation, rather than a superhuman being with either a superhuman ego or a superhuman destiny. I write this Preface four years to the day since commencing studies in Durham, and look back on a period in my life which has been both happy and productive. Many thanks are due to my supervisor, Professor James Dunn, for his critical but sympathetic scrutiny of the successive drafts of papers, some of which have even• tually found their way into this thesis. Thanks too to Mrs Meta Dunn, a gracious hostess on numerous occasions. Other members of the Department of Theology have also read drafts of sections of this thesis, and thanks are due particularly to Dr George Dragas, Mr Stephen Barton and Dr Andrew Chester (now of Cambridge University), and also to Professor James Beckford, formerly of the Department of Sociology and now of Loyola University, Chicago, for their interest and encour• agement. A special word of appreciation is due also to Mrs Margaret Parkinson, 7 the Department's postgraduate secretary, and to the staff of Durham University Library, for all they have accomplished to make my research possible. My approach to New Testament studies was fundamentally shaped during my years in the University of Cape Town Department of Religious Studies, and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my indebtedness to my previous su• pervisor, Dr Charles Wanamaker, and also to Professor David Chidester and Dr Itumeleng Mosala. Friends and colleagues in Durham have also made a valuable contribution to life and work here, and particular mention must be made of Pro• fessor John Chow, now of Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary, and Dr Bruce Longenecker, now of Cranmer Hall, Durham, for their stimulating companionship. Dr Sandi Baai, Deacon Wahib Boulos, Ellen Christianssen, Gus Christofis, Rev. Theo Harman, Andre Hart, Hartmut Hilke, Rev. Ezra Kok, Rev. Lung Kwong Lo, Rory Reynolds, Rev.

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